Exile 3: Reunion
by krtshadow
Summary: 18 year old Tim Drake decides to visit his old friends, now the Titans, and meanwhile has a very important decision to make. Complete.
1. Thoughts

Hey everybody. Number three is here. You are going to have to read Exile 1 and 2 to understand the story here. Sorry, but I really don't think that this will make any sense if you just try to pick it up in the middle. They can be found under my name at fanfiction.net, and are Return, and Conversations. I love feedback, and welcome any comments, constructive or not. -krt  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. I'm just messing with them, no harm intended and no money gained.   
  
Exile 3: Reunion  
  
Chapter 1: Thoughts  
  
The day dawned bright and early. I know, because I was awake for the show. The sun crept up over the harbor and even through the constant smog that settled over Gotham, the colors were brilliant. Light flooded my room and I turned away from the brightness, wincing and blinking my eyes to clear the spots from them. Darkness suited me much better than light, and I pulled the drapes shut with one hand. What a night. Too many things to think about, too many things to wonder about, and between that and the fact that the signal had went on only minutes after I reached my room, I had not slept very well at all.  
  
I'd spent hours last night thinking about my dad. I'd been exhausted, but somehow it always works that whenever I am both emotionally and physically tired, my brain just refuses to shut down. So, I'd paced the room countless times last night, going over the conversations that I'd had with my family and with Bruce, and wondering what it would have taken to make the one with my father turn out different. Nothing I could think of seemed like it would have changed the situation, except for me just blindly following what he had prepared for me, and I couldn't do that. I'd worked too hard, planned too much, to just throw it all away and be the single-minded playboy Jack Drake wished that I was.  
  
I stifled a sarcastic laugh. Most parents would love to find out that their son had given up the easy money and fast life of a millionaire's son and had spent three years at a prep school not living the wild life, but studying and building resources for a future. Not my dad. I really think that all he ever wanted out of me was to be totally and completely normal. He wanted a son that he could complain about to his club friends, that he could eventually 'rescue' from the wild life and train to take over the Drake family business. One that he could complain about when I was a teen, and brag about when I was thirty.   
  
Instead, he got a son that had surpassed his father's I.Q. by the age of 12, and could have taken his father in a fight, fair or not, by the age of 14. I'd become a leader of a group of people with superpowers, and I kept up with them and led them because of my own intelligence, training, and will power. I had the most dangerous and secretive man in the world as a personal trainer and father figure, and the most acrobatic man in the world as an older brother. My list of friends and acquaintances included a genius computer hacker, the world's best martial artist, the girl who could beat her, the fastest kid in the world, a indestructible, flying teen, and many, many more. Not to mention I'd earned the hatred of most of Gotham's underworld, and more than a few crazy homicidal maniacs.   
  
Quite a life, huh? Heh.   
  
My father couldn't understand. In his mind, I was nuts. He couldn't understand why I felt more content putting myself into constant danger than when I was at a party getting ogled by pretty girls. Not that pretty girls were all bad, but I needed a purpose to my life. A purpose that I had found in joining Batman in his crusade against the darkness of Gotham's crime. I had found that instead of being the little boy that was always in the way, I could be useful. I could help my world and my city, instead of becoming one of the elite that merely floated from party to party. I had jumped at the chance.   
  
I won't say that I've never had moments of regret, because that would be lying. I can remember a couple of time that I had wished that I'd just kept my nose in my own business, instead of spending the hours trying to figure out just who Batman was. My life would have been totally different. So different it boggled my mind for a second. No Robin. No bat family. No Young Justice. I wouldn't have got into trouble as much and I wouldn't have been sent away.   
  
It wouldn't have been worth it. I would have been bored stiff. Or worse, I might have been totally happy with a normal life. I turned and looked at myself in the mirror. A tough, intelligent, physical and mental fighter stared back at me. "Timothy Drake, you will never be normal," he said. What a relief.   
  
With that important distinction firmly made, I decided that it was now light enough for me to get headed out on the road to New York. Hopefully they would be there, I'd hate to waste the trip. I suppose that I could have Oracle call ahead, but I'd just as soon not be announced. Not that I particularly wanted to surprise them, but I had to assume that they may not be to happy with me for disappearing. Therefore, if I just showed up, they would be more likely to show their real feelings.   
  
I considered going downstairs and getting something to eat, but I was positive that I couldn't accomplish that without waking Alfred. I didn't really want to disturb him. I just grab some fast food on the road. I got dressed, pulling on my weapons belt only after checking them all to make sure that they were all in working order. I extended both my pair of small bo's and my full length bo, sharpened my throwing stars, and made sure that my line and small grapple were in working condition. That done, I pulled my jacket on to hide the belt and grabbed a pair of motorcycle gloves and my helmet.   
  
I crawled out of my second story window, walking carefully along the narrow ledge that ran along the side of the wall. I reached a drainpipe and lowered myself down to the flowerbed using that as a brace. I could have just jumped straight from the window, but I doubted that the gardener would appreciate six-inch deep footprints in his immaculately manicured gardens.   
  
I made my way through the estate to the garages. It was quite a walk. I'd forgotten how absolutely monstrous this place was. It was at least a half of a mile to the garage, and then I remembered that I'd left my bike at the back entrance to the cave. Arrg. That's another mile and a half's walk.   
  
I ran the whole way, working the stiffness out of my joints from the temper-induced workout last night. It felt good to run, and I knew that I should get back into the habit of my morning runs. While overseas, I'd usually ran about 5 miles every morning. Well, while I was in Switzerland, anyway. Running five miles in mainland China is a little dangerous. First, they'd lock you up for being insane, second, there's so many people that you can't run in a straight line anyway, and third, at least in the area that I was in, the ratio of attempted muggings or murder per mile was about six. Kind of hard to get into a rhythm.   
  
I was pleased that, even though I'd been running fast, I wasn't out of breath when I reached the bike. A note was taped to the seat. I pulled it free and unfolded it. The scrawl was familiar.   
  
'Hey, just wanted to remind you that you're welcome to stop by 'haven if you want to talk. Anytime. Dick.'   
  
I folded the note back up and tucked it in my pocket. Anytime. And I had it in writing. I grinned, that might come in handy sometime. I wanted to talk to him, but not until I had figured out what my plans were, because he was going to ask, and I was tired of putting people off. I made the decision as I started the bike. Today, I am going to decide if I want to stay in Gotham, and I am not going to think about my Dad any more. With that thought firmly entrenched in my head, I headed to New York to meet some old friends. 


	2. Welcome

Ok, here's the next chapter. I think that this might be my favorite scene to write so far. Thank you to those who left reviews, and to those of you who didn't, I would love to hear from you. Anyway, enough talk, read!! And hopefully, enjoy!! -krt  
  
  
Disclaimer in chapter 1  
  
Chapter 2: Welcome  
  
Titan's Tower wasn't really a tower anymore. According to my research, the place had been toppled a few to many times to risk building an actual tower any more. It was still perched on the island, but the new building was only about 3 stories high, but boasted of some rather impressive underground areas. The famous T was still in view, standing boldly out as black paint on the front of the gray structure.   
  
I considered my options. I could try to sneak in, but this time I knew that at least one person would be there and on monitor duty, so it would be very difficult. Not to mention that I wasn't familiar with the security. Not that that would stop me if I really needed to get in, but it made it quite a job. Plus, I'd have to get wet, and although I'm a very good swimmer, my pride protested against meeting my old friends dripping wet. Oracle could let them know who I was and they'd let me in, but I knew that this early in the morning she was sleeping off her long night of work and I didn't want to wake her for something like this. That left the straightforward approach.   
  
That decided, I parked my bike in some shrubbery and walked up to the small building that was obviously where you could contact the Titans. The door was unlocked and the small room inside contained only a retina scanner and a call box. No use even trying the scanner, my retina patterns were not in their database and I didn't see any reason to add them to it. My options being depleted, I pushed the call button and waited to see what the response would be.   
  
A voice that I immediately recognized as Cassie's spoke from the speaker. "Please face the camera and state your name and business."   
  
The name part was a little difficult, they wouldn't recognize my real name, and I wasn't really Robin anymore. I compromised, turning towards the camera and speaking clearly. "Rob." I wondered if that would be enough to snag her memory.  
  
Obviously not. "Last name and business, please."  
  
I sighed, she was taking all the fun out of this. I pulled a little domino mask from my pocket and perched it on my nose, holding it there with one finger. It hardly even fit anymore. "Does this help? I just wanted to visit some old friends."  
  
"AL? Oh MY gosh..."   
  
Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about the Draper thing. I winced, wondering why I couldn't have come up with a name that didn't instantly conjure thoughts of the Chipmunks. Then I felt the very weird feeling of my body dissolving into nothing... crud, I hate transporters.  
  
It's a tactical thing. Mostly. I do have to admit that transporters make me slightly queasy, but the big problem with the things is that they are limited. You have to arrive in a certain area, and I hate that since all the bad guys have to do is find that area, point a gun at it and wait. With this in mind, the second that I materialized in what was obviously the Titan's transporter bay, I was moving with the express idea of getting away from that tube. My bo's were in hand without conscious thought, and I moved to the other side of the room before I did anything else. Cassie literally flew into the room, dressed in the red Wonder Girl costume and wearing her hair blonde and short. She faced the transporter with a look of puzzlement on her face, obviously wondering where I was.   
  
I took a step away from the wall. "Y'know, you really should warn ..." My comment was cut short as I suddenly found myself dangling about a foot and a half off the ground. Cassie was hugging me, which I didn't really mind, considering, but she was also crying, and I did care about that. "Hey, what's the matter?"  
  
Cassie put me down, blushing a little. "Sorry." She sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "It is you, isn't it? Oh my gosh. We thought that you were dead."  
  
"WHAT?" Of all the possible reactions, that had not been one I'd expected. Anger, yeah. Happiness, hopefully. 'Where the heck did you go?' definitely. But, 'we thought you were dead?' That was a little strange. I looked at Cassie with a questioning look on my face.   
  
She shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. "Well, you disappeared so suddenly, and the only information that we could get was from Nightwing. When we asked him he just looked really p.o.'d and said that you were out of the business. So, we were skeptical and Impulse got up the nerve to contact Oracle about it, and all she told us was that she couldn't tell us where you were or how to contact you. She seemed really sad about it."  
  
The light came on inside my head. "So, you concluded that something had happened that made Nightwing mad, and Oracle sad, and meanwhile you couldn't find me or contact me." No wonder they'd thought I'd died. The clan didn't share any info with anybody. I wondered who else thought I was dead.   
  
Cassie continued, "We also heard around the grapevine that Batman was in one heck of a bad mood. The entire JLA was walking around on tiptoes, peeking over their shoulders and into all dark shadows all the time. GL was close to a mental breakdown." She giggled. "We thought something had happened to you, but to protect your identity, we weren't even invited to the funeral. Oh my gosh! I've gotta tell the others." She flew out of the room, a huge grin on her face.  
  
I followed at a slightly more sedate pace, although I ended up jogging in order to catch up with her. "What are you going to tell them?"  
  
She stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Oh, I never even thought. Do you want everyone to know?"  
  
"Yeah, I'd like to see everyone again. At least the Young Justice group, anyway. I don't really even know any of the other Titans. Well, other than Roy."  
  
"Just Kon and Bart at first then. And speaking of Roy, Lian's around here somewhere, but she probably won't know you." Cassie led the way into the monitoring room, where she moved over to a bank of computers and pressed a couple of buttons. "There, I notified them to come when they got a chance." Suddenly she looked at me with widening eyes. "You heard about..."  
  
I lowered my head and winced. "Yes, I heard about Secret. I just hope she's happier now."  
  
"I really think that she is. Y'know," Cassie smiled with nostalgia, "She was right. She said that she knew you weren't dead. She always thought that you'd come back one of these days. We all gave up, but she never did." We shared a sad smile as we both remembered our friend and what she'd meant to us.   
  
Our melancholy moment was interrupted by a blur. A very familiar blur, one that suddenly stopped right by Cassie and formed the shape of a tall young man. "What's up?" Impulse was still dressed in his distinctive white costume, but he'd changed the mask since I'd seen him last. The goggles had been exchanged for regular eye shields. He suddenly turned towards me and gave me the once over. No sign of recognition there. "New boyfriend you want us to approve?" He gave Cassie a wide grin, obviously expecting to hear an affirmative reply.   
  
Cassie smirked at me and stated, "No, Impulse, I can't believe that you don't recognize him." She conveniently forgot the fact that she hadn't recognized me at first either.  
  
"Well, who is he?" Bart looked rather impatient, and started tapping his foot at super-speed. I wondered if this was why none of the floors had carpet. It would be quite the fire hazard. "Just because I should know who he is doesn't mean that I do. You should know that."  
  
I kept a poker face as Cassie continued to tease the speedster. "Guess. And no super-speed either, you know I can't keep up."  
  
"Your brother?"  
  
"I don't even have a brother."  
  
"Is he one of the stars on that show you watch all the time?" Cassie just snorted and shook her head. "Ummmm... I know! A new recruit?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
Several minutes later, Bart was on his sixth or seventh guess, all of which I was enjoying greatly. Cassie was encouraging Bart to try one last time. "Come on, you're supposed to be fast and all, try and figure out who he is."  
  
"Rob?" I turned and Kon stood in the doorway, openmouthed and staring at me like I was a ghost. He still looked the same, just a little older. Hmm, they must have figured out a way to make him age normally.   
  
Impulse heard and whirled, his face suddenly matching his costume. "Rob?"  
  
Cassie grinned and threw her arms open wide. "Yes! It's Rob. Or Al. He's ok. He's back!"  
  
I half-grinned at my friends, one of whom was ecstatic and the other two who were going through some serious shock. "Hi, guys." I took a step towards them. And felt myself being dragged into the air for the second time in one morning.   
  
Kon about broke my ribs with a hug, and then realized what he was doing and put me down hurriedly, backing off a couple of feet. "You're ok. Rob, my man, it is so good to see you. Where the heck have you been?"   
  
I opened my mouth to answer but was interrupted by, "OHMYGAWSH!He'salive, he'salive.Wherewereyou?WhydidyouleaveandwhendidyougetbackandIthoughtyouweredead..."  
  
This looked liked it was going to go on for quite some time, so I winked at Cassie and Kon and gave Bart one of my better 'bat' glares. He gulped and shut up, grinning at me once he got over his shock. I had to smile as Kon whispered to Cassie, "It really must be him. Only he could make Bart quit when he goes off like that."  
  
My smile became a grin as Cassie whispered back, "It's nice to know some things are still the same."  
  
It's nice to know that my friends are still the same.  
  
More coming soon... 


	3. Why's and Wherefore's

Here's the next part. It has been brought to my attention that in comic continuity, the Young Justice crowd already knows Robin's identity. Unfortunately, I didn't know that. At the moment, I can't afford comics subscriptions, so I tend to get my knowledge from TPB's, and only some of those. So, just suffice it to say that in this series, Tim was 'exiled' before he got around to telling them, or they figured it out, or what ever happened. (Which is now making me curious... as long as Batman didn't tell them... that would be just too much...) Anyway, there's only about 2 more chapters, and then we return to Gotham and... well, that would be telling, wouldn't it? ;) -krt   
  
Disclaimer in chapter 1  
  
  
Chapter 3: Why's and Wherefore's  
  
"So, Robin, where were you all this time?" Kon, Bart, Cassie, and I sat down at what was obviously the Titan's conference table. Their logo adorned the center, and there was a huge map of the world adorning the wall behind me. I'd managed to get the chair with its back to the wall without making a fuss. My friends would consider my need to always watch the door paranoia, and although it may be that, it was a part of me. I wondered how Bruce got along in the Watchtower, with the table set in the center of a huge room, with doors all around.   
  
I realized that Kon was looking at me expectantly, still waiting for the answer to his question. I hadn't really considered how much to tell them, then realized that, for once, what I told them was totally up to me. With that thought firmly in mind, I decided that it was time to come clean with people who I considered some of the best friends that I'd ever had. They looked like they might become so again, because their welcome was as sincere as it was loud. "First, I think that you should know that my name is Tim Drake." Everyone's eyes widened. I knew what they were thinking. "And this time it really is my actual name. You can look it up on the net and get a picture if you like. I would ask that you not tell anybody else, though. I have enough problems without getting fan mail or something worse."  
  
Kon blanched. "Nothing is worse than fan mail, trust me. I'm beginning to wish my identity was a little more secret." The other two laughed at his expression. I guess there's a story behind that little remark.   
  
Bart sat back in his chair and shot me an inquisitive look. "Stop me if this is none of my business, but why are you telling us your identity now?"  
  
Good question. I was going to have a hard time getting this one across. "When we were in Young Justice, there were... factors that made it not my decision to tell you. I felt that I couldn't tell you."  
  
Cassie broke in. "Factors being Batman."  
  
"Well, yes. I don't really blame him, either. I might have made a similar decision faced with his choices. There was no real reason that he could trust you to keep the secret." I raised a hand to fend of the defensive that was starting to bubble out of them. "Think about it, we were very young, and prone to get into a lot of trouble." I was pretty sure I heard Cassie mumble something about 'Still are' but I continued. "I was having trouble keeping my own secrets from... people, and there was no use adding to the problem."  
  
Cassie looked uncertain. "I understand, but why is it so important that you all keep your identities so close? I mean, I can understand not letting the public know, but why can't he trust at least his fellow warriors at least?"  
  
I sat up, leaning my elbow on the table. This was something that I actually had just figured out for myself. "Actually, it's not a matter of trust at all. It's a matter of protection. Enough people know a secret of that magnitude, and somebody is bound to let it slip sometime. Not the secret itself, maybe, but at least the fact that he or she knows. And then that person is in danger from people who would torture and kill to find out what exactly they know. So, you don't tell people until you are sure that they can keep even the knowledge of the secret quiet."  
  
Kon raised a skeptical brow. "I'd call it paranoia, personally. I mean, really, who..."  
  
I cut him off, raising a hand and counting off the fingers. "Joker, Two-Face, Scarecrow... there's more. All in his city. I'd be paranoid too." Heck, I am paranoid too.  
  
Kon winced. "You may have a point there."  
  
"I understand perfectly, but all this doesn't really answer my question. Why tell us now? I mean, we could have just gone on calling you Rob." Bart really had matured a lot. We'd been talking for quite a while now, and I hadn't even seen him fidget once. I guess I hadn't expected my friends to have changed as much as I had, but it seemed like they had. It wasn't just Impulse either. Cassie was much more confident in who and what she was. Kon seemed to have realized that having people consider you a teen idol wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Young Justice wasn't acting all that young anymore. Heh. Who'd a thought it.   
  
"Because now it's my choice, and I trust you with it. Honestly, if I'd been able to stay around, I'd have figured out a way to tell you soon. Even Batman's figured out that you can't have a team without mutual trust. Plus, I'm really not Robin anymore and Al? What was I thinking?" I winced and lowered my head. They laughed, and I inwardly smiled. We may not have seen each other for three years, but we were still friends, and I was glad that we were able to pick that friendship up where it had been cut off.  
  
"Which only leads back to the original question. Where the heck did you go? We honestly thought that you were dead. You could have considered how we'd feel about you just suddenly disappearing." Kon frowned at me.  
  
I couldn't conceal a wince. "I had no say in the matter. My dad found out about my night-job and totally blew his stack. I got shipped to Switzerland, and I was literally watched day and night. The bat clan broke contact with me and at the time I didn't know why, and that really limited my ability to even contact you or anybody else, much less tell you anything about what was going on."   
  
"Switzerland? Why there?"  
  
I was about to answer when a shrill tone shattered my thoughts. Obviously, it meant something to the others since they headed back towards the monitor bay at full speed. Well, most of them did. Impulse stayed behind and shook my hand. "Sure glad you're not dead, Ro- I mean Tim."  
  
"Me too, now that you mention it." He grinned and headed for the bay and the others. He'd still probably beat them there. Once again, I found myself jogging down the halls.   
  
Suddenly, Impulse was back at my side. I almost jumped out of my skin. I wasn't used to people coming up on me that fast anymore. He didn't seem to notice though. "Just a big building fire downtown, probably caused by a group of terrorists that are hanging around threatening people. We're going to go and Kon wants to know if you'll come."  
  
Cassie jogged towards us. "Yes, Rob, take my place. I promised Roy I'd stay with Lian today. He's out on a 'job' and won't be back until tomorrow."  
  
I didn't really want to go with them, mostly because I didn't have any costume. Or an identity, for that matter Not to mention that the last thing they needed was someone who they hadn't trained with for three years, and who definitely wasn't the same person that they'd remembered. "Cassie, you go, I'll stay with Lian. She should still remember me if I remind her. I saw her quite a bit when I visited Nightwing here."  
  
"Oh, would you? That would be wonderful. LIAN!!" Cassie turned and yelled towards the open doorway.   
  
We were soon joined by a perky little seven-year-old, who looked me up and down and said, "I know you, don't I?" She cocked her head to one side, obviously trying to remember me. Wonder Girl explained the situation and Lian agreed to stay with me for an hour or so while the Titans took care of business. Cassie left in a flash of red and left me alone with Lian, who queried, "What's your name?"  
  
"Well, you'd remember me as Robin. I came around with Nightwing some. Why don't you just call me Rob for now, ok?" I gave her a grin, hoping she wouldn't ask what my real name was.  
  
I should have known that she'd know better than that, considering how she'd been raised. "Oh, yeah, I remember you now. So, who are you if you're not really Robin anymore?" Smart kid, she'd picked up on what I hadn't said. Of course, considering that she'd been mentored by people ranging from a world class detective to an Atlantean mage, it would be understandable that she would be wiser than her years. She probably just figured I'd changed codenames.  
  
I decided to level with her. "Y'know, Lian, I really don't know who I am right now, in that way." I added a little emphasis to the last phrase so that she'd understand that I was talking about the hero business.  
  
"That's ok. Daddy says that sometimes you have to step back and figure things out again. That must be what you're doing."  
  
"Exactly. Your Daddy's pretty smart."  
  
She gave a cute little pixie grin. "Sometimes..." I laughed at her joke and she looked gratified that I'd seen the humor of the statement. She grabbed me by the hand and led me toward the door. "C'mon, I'll show you everything."  
  
Looks like I'm going to get the Lian Tour.   
  
TBC... 


	4. Tour

Chapter four's here!! Thanks to everyone who left me reviews, I really appreciate it. I actually think that there is a ratio between how many reviews I get and how much I work on the next story. ;) Anyway, hope you all enjoy this one.   
  
Disclaimer: Not mine, all characters owned by DC, I'm just messing around with them for a little while.   
  
  
Chapter Four: Tour  
  
The next half-hour was taken up with an exhaustive tour of the Titan's base. I was officially impressed. There were extensive living quarters, each tailored to meet the needs of the occupants. The computer set up was superb, and I was able to recognize the distinct work of a certain redheaded guru. There was a large conference hall, a huge garage, and a rec. room littered with things to do. The very bottom level of the complex was a gym and training area. The kitchen was a mess. I mentally grinned. If I had to lay a bet, I'd say that Impulse was the last one in here. It looked exactly like the Young Justice kitchen had after he went through one of his 'I don't know what I want, so I'll just look at everything in less than a second' moods.   
  
I commented on things to Lian, who was proud to be the one to show me around. I managed to keep up a conversation with her while my thoughts drifted elsewhere. I was amazed by how well my friends had reacted. I hadn't realized that they had assumed that I was dead. I guess after that it was easy to forgive my disappearance. I didn't really think that there would be no incidents of anger in the future, but it was nice to have gotten through the initial meeting without being punched by someone with super strength. Trust me, I've been there, not a happy thing. So it was nice not to be in traction, but it made me wonder if they would continue to be so happy with me once they had a chance to think it over.   
  
Hopefully they would realize the truth. I'd given them enough information for them to know that I hadn't disappeared on purpose. I didn't really want to share details about my failing relationship with my father, but I would if I had to, to keep their friendship. Hopefully, it wouldn't become necessary.   
  
I was dragged away from my thoughts by the continuing tour. We headed a flight of stairs to what was obviously the underground area of the tower. The gym area was by far my favorite place. About a quarter of the huge area was workout machines of almost every type. I saw a few I'd never seen before, obviously intended for someone with powers. Another quarter housed a variety of weapons, and places to train with them. A variety of targets stood up against one wall and I picked up a short bladed knife and asked Lian to pick a target for me.   
  
She looked at me and at the knife and then pointed at one that was only about four inches off the ground and a good twenty feet away. Sheesh, she had to pick the hardest one. Still, she was Roy's daughter, she could probably make the shot herself. I took a split second to mark the target in my mind and hit the ground rolling. I released the knife with a flick of the wrist as I tumbled and sprung back to my feet before looking to see if my throw had hit where I'd aimed.   
  
Lian nodded appreciatively at the knife, which was embedded with the blade half in the very center of the target. "Good shot. Now, pick one for me. Not so far away though."   
  
I looked over the targets while she ran to retrieve the knife. When she returned, I pointed out a large target that was only about ten feet off. "That one, but see if you can put it in the red line, not the center." She nodded and then threw the knife with a downward sweep of her arm. The knife thudded into the target, bisecting the red line perfectly.  
  
I clapped and she blushed slightly. "I sure can tell that you're Roy's daughter, alright. Good shot." Lian beamed at the praise and we continued our tour of the basement.  
  
The rest of the area was part obstacle course and part training facility. Reinforced glass surrounded two sides, so that training could be monitored. I examined the glass, noticing that there was a clear coating. Nice. They had the glass treated so that with a flick of a switch the glass would turn opaque. Lian hit a button and one of the panels slid open. "Wanna try it?"  
  
I considered. It might be fun, and it was a nice place to work out. "Only if you try it with me. That is, if you're allowed too?"  
  
"Oh yeah, Daddy's teaching me martian arts. We practice in here a lot."  
  
"Oh really? I think you mean martial arts though." I had to grin at her slip of the tongue. I shook the mental picture of J'onn in an artist's smock, painting, out of my head. Blast my imagination.  
  
"Oh, I guess you're right. That's when you kick and stuff, right?" At my nod, she continued, "Do you know mart-martial arts?" Curiosity shone in her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, I guess. I'm pretty good."  
  
"Better than Daddy?"  
  
Whoo boy, I wasn't going to touch that one with a ten foot bo. "I don't know. I haven't seen him fight for a long time." Change the subject. "Why don't you show me what you know. Maybe you'll be better than me."  
  
"Oh, I'm not very good at this yet. I'm better at throwing things." She grinned at me and put up her hands in a defensive posture.   
  
I watched her as she circled me. She tried to strike me a couple of times and I blocked her each time, studying her form as she went. She was right, she wasn't all that good in the grand scheme of things, but considering that she was only seven, she was superb. A couple more years and there'd be another hero in the ranks, unless I missed my guess.   
  
I saw a hole in her guard and went through it, tapping her lightly on the chest with my open palm. She wrinkled her nose. "Opps. What'd I do wrong?" I showed her how to fix her defense and she tried again. This time when I sent the blow her way, she blocked it. The smile that came over her face lit up the room.   
  
We spent the next twenty minutes practicing. She would try to hit me and I'd critique her strikes, and then I'd gently test her defenses. She was so much shorter than I was that I had to tailor my own defenses quite a bit. I told her so and informed her that this was good practice for me too.   
  
She had just opened her mouth to answer when something caught the corner of my eye. A man, just entering the basement, dressed in black. Gun! I moved as fast as I ever have, grabbing a shocked Lian and diving for the nearest cover. I shielded her with my body as we landed behind one of the obstacle course blocks. Lian let out a little squeak as I landed partly on top of her, knocking the breath out of her. An inarticulate growl of rage came from the man in black. Who the heck was this and how did he get in here?   
  
TBC... 


	5. Standoff

Last chapter is finally here. Thanks for the reviews. I really didn't mean for the last chapter to be too much of a cliffhanger, I thought that most of you would figure it out. Well, anyway, it will probably be a couple of weeks until Exile 4, all of a sudden all of my professors decided that they hate me, and I have tests, papers, and projects nonstop for a while. sniff I'd much rather be kicking tail with the clan, really... -krt  
  
Chapter Five: Standoff   
  
Lian was looking at me with wide eyes. I realized that I had my hand over her mouth, and removed it, but kept one finger on her lips so that she'd know to be quiet. I quietly reached around behind my back and removed my bo's from their sheath. I also had three throwing stars which I handed to Lian. At least she could protect herself with those. All of this took only seconds.   
  
I looked up as three arrows thudded into the block, one right after another. "Let go of my girl, you @%^&!!"   
  
Ahh, Roy. Things fell into place. Roy got home early and found the place pretty empty. He goes looking for his daughter, and finds her fighting with a man that he doesn't know, who grabs her, and shoves her behind a block where Roy can't see her. No wonder he's p.o'ed. Looks like I'd better come up with a plan, or I was going to be fighting off a very dangerous protective father.  
  
Lian's eyes lit up at the sound of her father's voice. I took my finger away from her mouth. "Roy, I'm sending her out." She handed me back my throwing stars and stood and ran towards Roy.  
  
Roy waved her away. "Go upstairs, baby girl, now." I heard the relief in his voice as he saw that she was ok.   
  
"But, Daddy..." Lian wanted to explain, but Roy was in no mood to listen right now.  
  
"NOW." She went, and I heard the door close behind her.   
  
I carefully stood up from behind the block, keeping my bos in hand. I had no intentions of letting Roy shoot me. My legs tensed, ready to dive out of the way if his hand so much as twitched. We stared at each other for a couple of long seconds. He was aiming his bowshooter right at my heart. "Who are you and what were you doing with my daughter?"  
  
Not another 'who are you' question. Oh well, at least he wasn't shooting me out of hand. "I'm Rob. Cassie left Lian with me while she, Kon, and Bart dealt with an emergency." I put careful emphasis on the names. He should realize that not just anybody would know all those names.   
  
"Rob?" Roy relaxed only slightly at the names, but still kept an eye on me. "I don't know any Rob."  
  
"Let's put it this way. Dick will probably kill you if you kill me when I've only been back three days."  
  
Roy did his best to conceal his surprise at Dick's name. "I don't know who you're talking about." He didn't want to give away any identities, especially not one of his best friends.  
  
Well, I'd make it clear. "Nightwing. Dick. Richard Grayson. In my case, older brother. I used to be Robin."  
  
Roy finally lowered the bowshooter, and I let myself relax slightly. "Little kid Robin? Whoa, you grew."  
  
I gave him a slight grin. "Yeah, I've been hearing that a lot. Sorry I scared you about Lian, Cassie said you wouldn't be back until tomorrow. All I saw was a guy pointing a gun..."  
  
"Hey, it's ok. I'd have done the same. No hard feelings, hmm?" Roy removed the arrow from the bow shooter and returned it to his quiver.   
  
"Nope." I relaxed the rest of the way. I was now pretty sure that he wasn't going to try to gut me with one of the various sharp things he had in his possession. I was also pretty sure that I could take him down before he could shoot me, now that he'd have to reload. Both of those thoughts made me feel much better. Heh.   
  
Lian poked her head in the door and started talking frantically. "Daddy, Daddy, don't shoot him, he's Robin, but not anymore, and he was just teaching me on martian, I mean martial arts, and he's really good, and Cassie said that I should and I was just showing him..."  
  
Roy walked over and picked her up, giving her a big hug. "It's ok, sweetie, we got it figured out. I'm not going to have to shoot him." He shot a glance my way. "Really good, huh? Now why doesn't that surprise me? So, is he better than you?"  
  
Lian looked serious. "Yep, he's lots better than me. He says he doesn't know if he's better than you, but," She leaned closer to Roy's ear and added in a loud whisper. "I think that he is."   
  
Oh great.   
  
Roy tried to hold a grin in and failed miserably. "Lian, he was probably better than me three years ago. I don't doubt for a second that he's better than me now."  
  
"Oh." Lian looked at me. "Why didn't you say that then?"  
  
"Uhhh." I tried to come up with something cute to say, but my mind deserted me. Roy just laughed and motioned me to follow him up to the main level.   
  
As we walked, Roy looked me over and asked, "So, where've you been? We all kinda thought that..." He glanced up at Lian, who was riding on his shoulders, obviously not wanting to bring her attention to the fact that I had been considered dead.   
  
"Yeah, I heard. It's a really long story. I was out of the country for three years, and when I got back, I wanted to see the gang again. We were in the middle of a reunion when they got a call. Cassie wanted to go, so I volunteered to baby-sit."  
  
Lian pouted from her perch on Roy's shoulders. "I'm not a baby anymore."   
  
I winked at her. "You are definitely not a baby anymore. Anybody as good at 'Martian' arts as you are shouldn't be called anything less than a young lady." She beamed in pride. Roy gave me a proud papa look as we entered the main room.   
  
I was just about to ask Roy if he'd changed his costume to black, or if this was just undercover gear, when Impulse suddenly vibrated through the far wall. "Hey, Roy. Hey, Lian." He screeched to a stop and reached up to tickle Lian, who swatted his hand away and laughed. Then he turned to me. "Um, Rob, er, T, hmm, whatever." I nodded thanks at his attempt to keep my secrets. Roy wasn't stupid and pulled Lian off his shoulders and headed across the room, tickling her as he went. Impulse continued, "Sorry, but Kon wanted you to know that the whole team will be back here in a couple of minutes. You're welcome to stay and meet the others, but we thought that we should warn you first."   
  
I grimaced. I still wanted to talk to Bart, Kon and Cassie about stuff, but I really didn't want to meet anybody else, especially without a mask or a disguise of any sort. 'Ok, I'd better be going then. Thanks for the heads up."  
  
I waved goodbye to Lian and Roy. Lian ran over to give me a hug and I accepted it awkwardly. "You're coming back sometime, right? I want you to teach me more martial arts." She looked up at me and smiled.  
  
Well, what could I say? I mussed her hair up and squatted down to her level. "Maybe, kiddo. We'll have to wait and see." She seemed to be content with that, and ran back to her father, who waved goodbye to me from across the room.  
  
Bart escorted me to the transporter bay. "Hey, you'll be around though, right? If I let you get away and you disappear again, you know that they'll kill me." He gave me a very fake mournful look. "You wouldn't want to be the cause of my untimely demise, would you?"   
  
I sent a half grin at him. "Oh, heaven forbid. You guys can call me in a day or so and we'll get together again. Oracle will have my number or can give me a message." Impulse nodded, and I stepped towards the transporter tube. Bart laughed at my wince as I stepped inside. He was still laughing as he activated the field and sent me on my way back to the outside world.   
  
I found my cycle and helmet right where I'd left them. The long ride to Gotham beckoned and I settled my helmet on and mounted. As I took off down the road I noticed a very strange and very familiar contraption coming towards me. It was a vivid purple, and was flying about seven feet off the ground, obviously headed to the base. The Supercycle was carrying several recognizable figures, namely Kon and Cassie, and two I didn't immediately recognize. Must be the other members. I made a mental note to do some research when I got home. As I passed to one side of the flying Supercycle, I heard a screech and turned my head to see what had happened.   
  
Right as I had passed, the Supercycle had stopped on a dime and whipped around to 'watch' me. Several Titans had gone flying and Kon was rescuing them as I watched. The Supercycle looked like it wanted to follow me, but Kon started arguing with it and it turned back towards the base, although grudgingly. Kon turned to look at me and I tapped my fingers to my helmet in a mock salute. He returned it with a wave and followed the Supercycle home. Heh. I guess it recognized me.   
  
I headed home myself. I still had a lot more things that I needed to do. Like figure out if I was going rejoin the 'family business' or not. Talk about your life-changing decisions. Still, I think I knew what I really wanted to do, I just didn't know how Bruce was going to react. Well, since when had I liked my life served boring, anyway?  
  
  
  
  
End Exile 3... To be continued, as soon as I find the time, in Exile 4: Decision. 


End file.
